


the Flu and the Full Moon

by Fix9



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, M/M, Marauders' Era, Mutual Pining, Pining, This is my first fic and I hate it but, i don’t have the writing ability for this, i was gonna make it longer and more drawn out but I’m lazy, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-04-28 09:45:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14446593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fix9/pseuds/Fix9
Summary: The Marauders have recently become animagi! Excited to test out their new skills, the fifth years try to get Remus to let them come with him during the full moon. However, a nasty flu and upcoming O.W.L.s exams may stand in their way. And Remus is still unsure how he'll deal with his newly forged feelings for a certain long-haired pureblood...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic so it might suck. This is meant to be a three chapter fic, so please bear with me as I tackle this as well as everything else going on in my life.  
> -Fix9

There was a flu at Hogwarts.

Thanks to a certain muggle-born third year, the days following the holiday break were full of sneezes, coughs, and headaches. Of course, there was a potion for the flu, Professor Slughorn was putting his top students- mainly Severus Snape- to work. He was delivering a case of glass vials to Madam Pomfrey when he saw Minerva McGonagall. 

"Hello, Professor Slughorn," she said. The usually put together, prim professor looked almost nervous. "Madam Pomfrey and I were just talking about the number of students in the hospital wing. We're running out of cots."

"I suppose we could just have some of the recovering students retire to their own dormitories," said Madam Pomfrey.

"But what about the potion?" Slughorn asked.

"What?"

"The potion. It requires the taker to remain bedridden for three days. It must have slipped my mind." Slughorn, completely oblivious to the concern on the two women's faces, placed the potion on the table and began removing the vials, the liquid a dull green. "But I'm sure you'll work something out, eh, Poppy?"

"Oh, yes, Professor. I suppose." She walked over to the bedside of a coughing sixth year and, with a flick of her wand, refilled his water glass. "I suppose the light of the full moon," she added, cutting a look to McGonagall, "will be of use to the students' healing."

Minerva McGonagall adjusted her glasses. "If you'll excuse us, Professor Slughorn. I must speak with Madam Pomfrey." She walked over to the corner of the infirmary with the other woman. "Is it tonight?"

"Tomorrow. But if I have to stay here with the students-"

"I know. He'll have to go alone. I'm sure he can handle it." Even McGonagall didn't believe her own words.

"He'll have to stay in the Shrieking Shack for couple of extra days- the cold won't help his wounds. Minerva, I must tend to the students and administer the potion. The sooner, the better."

Minerva McGonagall hurried off to find Remus Lupin. 

  
  


Remus Lupin was sitting in the library with Lily Evans. A thick textbook was in front of him, but he couldn't concentrate. He knew what was coming up. He already felt groggy and sick, but he had yet to tell the other Marauders that the full moon was tomorrow night. He suspected, however, that Sirius already figured it out.

"So then the Mandrake leaves-hey, are you listening?" The question came from Lily Evans, her fiery hair pulled in a messy bun held together by her wand. She usually looked much more organized, but the imminent O.W.L.s were coming next week, and so the only thing in Lily's mind was studying. Besides, she had read that you don't always have to look nice, and to only dress for yourself. Petunia called her a freak because of "feminism," along with the magic she possessed. 

"Sorry," replied Remus.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded, dirty blond curls toppling over his eyes. "I'm fine. Just feeling a little-"

Just then, three boys came running into the library.

The first had thick, messy hair the color of ebony and dark tan skin. He wore glasses with square frames, and the eyes behind them held stories of pranks and laughter that hurt your sides. He was seeker for the Gryffindor quidditch team, and he was desperately in love with Lily Evans. Not that he'd ever say so. This was James Potter.

The second boy was almost as tall as Remus. He had wavy molasses-colored hair that he pulled into a ponytail, but sometimes he'd let it out to "give the people what they want," as he would say to McGonagall in response to her disapproving glances. His eyes were a cool grey, as was everyone’s in the Noble House of Black. They were like mist before a mountain. His smile was toothy and aware. This was Sirius Black

The final boy was short and round. His hair was mousy and in his smile you could almost forget the pain that once resided there. The boy felt at home with the Marauders, which he couldn’t say other times. This was Peter Pettigrew. 

Remus sighed. He loved his friends, of course. They helped him come out of his shell. He no longer feared the moon, when he was with them. And, to be fair, if it wasn’t for Remus’ brain, the others would have been kicked out of Hogwarts before you could say “quidditch.” But he did enjoy the quiet calm of the library amongst the smell of dust and Lily’s rose perfume.

“Oh, the fair Lily Evans, to what do I owe such a pleasure?” James asked, and dropped to his knee dramatically. “Evans, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” He grabbed her hand. 

Lily snatched it away. “James Potter, I’d never, ever marry you if I had to decide between you and the giant squid.” Sirius stifled a laugh as she walked away, leaving nothing but a mumbled, “goodbye, Remus.”

“Sorry, Prongs,” Peter said. He always liked to use their nicknames. “I’m sure she actually does like you, but she doesn’t know how to tell you.” He smiled, then reached into his robes and pulled out a chocolate frog.

“What, it’s not like you think she’d ever actually marry you?” Sirius argued, “I mean, we think you’re great, James, but this is never gonna happen.” 

James shoved him. “Whatever. At least girls like me.”

Sirius snorted. “Are you suggesting they don’t?”

Remus’s heart sank but he said nothing.  _ Remus, stop it. You don’t actually like him, do you? What about those girls in your divination class? You like them. Stop. You  _ can’t  _ like a boy like you like girls. And who could love a monster?  _ The voice in Remus’ head made him kick his chair just enough to alert the other boys. 

“What is it, Remus?” asked Sirius. The infinite grey of his eyes clouded to a concerned cement color. 

“It’s nothing.” Just then, Minerva McGonagall came rushing into the library. “Mr. Lupin, a moment, please.” 

Professor McGonagall was never  _ flustered _ . But Remus could tell that she was nervous. Whether it was the way her pointed hat with the wide brim was nearly falling off, or her glasses were almost askew on her nose, or for the fact that Remus could swear he saw a few strands of brown hair out of place. 

“Mr. Lupin, as I am sure you’re aware, tomorrow night is, well,  _ your  _ night.” Remus nodded. “And I’m sure you are further aware that a muggle influenza has seized the majority of Hogwarts students.” Remus nodded again, slower this time. His brain was refusing to see the obvious. “Mr. Lupin. Madam Pomfrey will not be able to see you out into the Shrieking Shack. And due to the specific potion required to heal this muggle flu, I’m sorry. You will not be able to receive immediate medical treatment when necessary.”

“Oh.” Remus didn’t know what to say. 

“I am truly sorry. But perhaps,” she said, walking off, “Your friends can assist you. Don’t let that month of Mandrake leaves be for nothing.” She winked.

“What’s up?” James asked as he propped his feet up on the table. 

“Well…” Remus began. His voice trailed off. 

“Spill it, Moons.”

Remus shoved the sleeves of his crimson jumper over his hands. He took a deep breath. “The full moon is tomorrow and Pomfrey can’t help me.”

“What?” said Peter his voice muffled over a mouth full of chocolate.

“I’m alone.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Moon draws near as the Marauders tackled supposed unrequited love, family struggles, and the threat of Severus Snape growing larger than his nose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Chapter 2 is a bit longer than the first, which is why it took so long oops lol ANYWAY I hope you enjoy it, and keep your eyes peeled for the MONSTER that chapter three will be  
> \- Fix9

Sirius laughed. “No you’re not.”

“No, guys, you don’t get it,” Remus argued, standing to leave. Sirius grabbed the strap of Remus’ bag and pulled him down.

“I think we do. We’re animagi,” Sirius said loudly.

“Shit, Padfoot, quiet down, will you?” said James. “Three animagi and a werewolf aren’t exactly Hogwarts-appropriate. What if we get in trouble?” Peter, James, and Sirius were silent for a second, then burst into intoxicating laughter. Even Remus felt himself smiling.

“But you don’t get it,” Remus continued, “I appreciate you guys becoming animagi - against all reason and logic - but it’s different. I won’t ask you to do this for me. I can’t. It’s not fair.”

Peter coughed. “But why did we go through all that trouble? Do you know how much it sucks to hold a Mandrake leaf in our mouth for a month? Come on, Moony, we can help you.”

“Look Remus,” Sirius turned toward him, knocking his knee against Remus’. Remus felt his heartbeat increase. “We can’t understand what it’s like, but we can learn how to help you. And Peter’s right. It’s a waste if we can’t help you. Just tell us what your transformations are like. Beyond ‘it hurts, I’m very tired afterwards, and somebody give me some chocolate before I stab James with my quill.’ Please, Remus. Don’t be a pussy.”

Where to begin? How could Remus begin to describe what the moon did to him? It wasn’t until late third year when he told the others. It wasn’t until then he had been able to trust people, to let them in. It wasn’t until last year he began to notice Sirius like _that_. “Later. In the dorm. I feel like we’re being watched.” And with that, Remus stood, gathered his things messily, and and left, the other boys following soon after. Little did they know, their conversation had, in fact, been overheard by the person least likely to keep his trap shut. A greasy potions prodigy with an aquiline nose had listened in, and learned everything.

 

The Marauders were sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room later that night studying for the dreaded O.W.L.s when everything turned for the worse. Lily Evans walked over to them, impatient, with her fists clenched white. “Severus told me to give you this.” She shoved a folded piece of parchment into James’ hand.  
“What’s in it?” James asked. He would have loved grazing hands with Lily if it weren’t for the author of the letter in question.  
“How should I know? Sev just made me promise I wouldn’t look at it. Can I leave? Just sitting near you is lowering my I.Q.”  
James nodded, his thick eyebrows knitted together. He opened the letter. He scanned it. His eyes widened. His jaw dropped just slightly. “Dorm. Now.”

 

“What’s wrong?” asked Peter, wiping his nose.

“Snivellus heard us,” James replied, his voice grave.

Sirius shot up. “That butt trumpet! Do you think he’s gonna tell? What did the letter say?”

James read aloud:

_Potter,_  
_I hear you and your friends have a furry little problem. Poor Remus. I sure would hate to be the one who has to snap his wand. But I suppose I can be soothed with the knowledge that I can tell on you, on all of you, and the Ministry will deal with you properly. Keep that in mind next time you dare come near me._

_S. Snape_

“What do we do?” Sirius asked. He sat down on his bed. Remus pretended not to notice the stack of half-crumpled letters at his bedside. Sirius would take them out every so often and read them. Remus didn’t know why.

“I don’t know. Moony?” said James. They all turned toward Remus.

Remus was sitting against the foot of his bed. His head was hanging above his knees. Sirius swore he saw a tear on his chin.

“They’re gonna kick me out of Hogwarts,” he whispered.

Sirius sat down next to him and put his arm around Remus’ back. “Like hell they will. We’ll get our revenge on Snivellus after the O.W.L.s. Let’s give him a taste of his own medicine.”

Remus steadily stood. “No. They’ll expel all of us.”

“Not if we can shut up the greaseball.”

Sirius, Peter, and James began scheming. Remus slumped back down. He was already growing weak. He began to speak. “My first transformation was the worst.” He again pulled his jumper sleeves over his hands. His voice was shaky.

“Go on,” Sirius said encouragingly.

“It was worse than I had anticipated. I was so young, you know? My bones cracked and rearranged, my muscles and tendons stretched and tore. My brain was no longer in control. It was the wolf now. My parents hadn’t quite figured out what to do with me, so they put me in the shed outside. I broke right through it. I...I bit my dad.” He had never told anyone that before. He had gotten into the house and bit his dad’s leg. It was a deep cut. You could still make out tooth marks on his leg. Since then it felt as if his own father couldn’t look directly into his eyes. Like a pane of frosted glass had been put between them. Remus went on. “I woke up with this.” He pointed to the three scars on his face. “These took the longest to heal. It’s the same. Pain, blackout, pain. Pain, blackout, pain. It was before Hogwarts. Before the Shack. Before Madam Pomfrey.” _Before Sirius._

“Whaddya do during summer?” Peter coughed.

“Wait for September,” replied Remus, dryly.

“What do you need? Gauze? Potions? Chocolate?” Sirius frantically asked. Sirius noticed James’ raised eyebrow, and he settled. He tried again. “How can we help?”

 

That night, Sirius closed his bed curtains and grabbed his wand and the pile of letters. “Lumos,” he hissed and a ball of light formed at the end of his wand. He held the handle in his mouth and read the letters.

They had stopped in October. Sirius supposed he wouldn’t be invited back over the summer. Sickeningly, he wanted to go back. It’s as good a home as any, Sirius thought, but memories of the Potter household quickly changed his mind. Maybe Regulus would advocate for him. Sirius was still unsure. When the letters had stopped, Sirius was relieved. But that didn’t mean his cousin Bellatrix wouldn’t glare at him at lunch, or shout horrible things to him in the hall. He was sure that she’d end up in Azkaban, and knowing that made it hurt less. He uncrumpled the first letter he was sent. From his mother.

_Sirius,_  
_You are a disgrace to the Black name. How could you be sorted into Gryffindor? Your father and I are disgusted. Words do not even_ think _to_ begin _to describe how utterly furious we are. Blacks are Slytherins. End of story. The status of your standing as a Black is to be discussed._

_Walburga Black_

He read on, through the disgraces and failures and disgusts. He clenched his fists around each letter, as if each word could be crushed under his thumbs. Stupid. Failure. Disgrace. Words shot through his head like pinballs. _It’s true_ , Sirius thought, _you should just run away. Do everyone a big favor._ Stop. No. _You have Remus._ He frowned. _Who doesn’t like you. Who probably thinks it’s bad to be g-_ Sirius couldn’t even think the word. He had only realized he liked boys-well, Moony, specifically-last summer, and he still wasn’t used to it. It wasn’t like the Marauders would be okay with it.  
And with that, he was asleep.

 

The morning sun flooded into the Marauders’ dorm, but it was a facade; it was incredibly cold for the end of the year. The boys rose, save for Remus, and set off for breakfast.

“So. Bad news,” James began after their first class. Sprout caught me. Turns out, I have a detention tonight.”

“From when?” Asked Sirius.

“Who knows. I never stay awake in Herbology. But I-” he looked around to make sure no one was listening. “I can’t tonight.”

“You can. Remus needs m-us,” Sirius growled.

“I can’t either.” Peter added. “Since Remus is ‘sick’ Lily asked me to study with her. Says she can’t study alone and after Moony, I’m the least insufferable. Isn’t that great?”  
Sirius slammed his fists on the windowsill just as James chased Peter down the hall.

“What am I gonna tell Remus?” He whispered to himself.


End file.
